It’s Time to End the Epidemic of Mass Incarceration

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Dr. Boyce Watkins and Russell Simmons have gathered a coalition of supporters from various walks of life to stand together to correct the serious injustices of the prison industrial complex. Rehabilitation and even punishment are acceptable in themselves, but when a nation builds an entire economy around the unjust incarceration of millions of its citizens, that nation is serving as a tool for its own demise. Families are destroyed when citizens are given extraordinarily long prison sentences for even the smallest crimes, and the failed War on Drugs has created an entire generation of lost children, who’ve grown up without the support and guidance of two loving parents.

The appeal to President Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder is not written as an attack, but with the goal of persuading the Obama Administration to lend its considerable resources to productive efforts to help solve the problem. If you support this initiative and would like to join our efforts, please sign up at this link.

As Dr. Boyce Watkins said, “This is not a sprint, it’s a marathon. We’re in this for the long haul.” So far, the effort has gotten the attention of media outlets world-wide, for it’s the first time such a vast coalition of public figures, scholars, faith leaders and activists have come together for such an important cause. We truly have the chance to make a difference.

Celebrities and public figures who’ve signed onto the letter thus far: